And very happy to tell her story and her life to the world.. [57] Kotevska and Stefanov also started a campaign titled Donate for the Honeyland Community that sends jars of natural honey to donors of a fund that benefits Hatide and her neighbors. This led them to Hatidze Muratova, one of Europe's last wild beekeepers, who uses ancient methods passed down through the generations for harvesting wild honey. [65] Following the movie's dual nomination, several other countries started submitting their documentaries for dual categories at the 2021 Oscar awards. Perhaps this is why the most arresting imagery comes early on, before Hussein's family arrives kicking up dust with their animals and trucks. He takes all the honey from his own hives, but his bees respond to this by attacking Hatidze's hives, leading to their destruction, and a conflict between the human neighbours. What happened to Hatidze after Honeyland's opening sequence led Stefanov and Kotevska to devote three more years to filming her story and another year editing the four hundred hours of footage into eighty-five minutes. 2023 IndieWire Media, LLC. But she refused a request to open up her hives, hidden in the crags of a nearby mountain, for fear the heat of the noon sun would harm the honeycombs. Even with this help, Mr. Georgiev is still often drawn into the disputes. Calm and gentle, Ms. Muratova has a deep and respectful relationship with nature, treating her bees almost as collaborators. Hatidze Muratova in "Honeyland." (Neon) But "Honeyland" is not a fictional story about a good woman and an evil man; Hussein Sam's a desperate mannine mouths to feed is a massive . "I think she put a spell on us all, so that we would look after her daughter when she was gone," he said. Hatidze Muratova, a 50-something woman, is . Hatidze spends her time caring for her bees which she keeps in the stone walls of old structures and in the rocks of cliffs instead of modern bee boxes and for her mother. Their avarice, and the events that soon unfold, haveled many critics to praise the film as an allegory for the modern worlds impact on our most fragile ecosystems. She herself lives in what amounts to a hole in the rock, a cave-like hut where she tends her ancient mother as gently and patiently as she tends her bees. [40] According to the website's critical consensus, "Honeyland uses life in a remote village to offer an eye-opening perspective on experiences that should resonate even for audiences halfway around the world". Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living . [citation needed] In Australia and New Zealand, Honeyland was released by the production company Umbrella Films on 5 March 2020. Gently placing it into Nazife's hands, the old woman's ruined face (one eye has been destroyed by a wound or infection . Now it has become the first film ever to get Oscar nominations for both best documentary and best foreign language movie, Hatidze has become a full-blown celebrity who gets stopped in the street by Hollywood stars. This was the most powerful sentence," he said. crafted from more than 400 (!) And the complexities of this transition created a clash between the filmmakers professional duties as cleareyed observers and their subjects emotional expectations of them as humans and friends. So all the scenes with the dialogue, particularly, we didnt know whats going on there. This kind of involvement is partly a self-interested act, Mr. Georgiev said a means of both salving the crews conscience for deriving professional benefit from the lives of both Mr. Sam and Ms. Muratova, and warding off public criticism. The woman's name is Hatidze. You can't miss her. Honeyland. Sign in The . "To be able to communicate with bees you need to have a personal strength to approach them, patience to learn how to tame them, and this way of life requires not force but wisdom," says Kotevska. In the film, she develops a special bond with one of the Sam boys. [45], Grading Honeyland with four stars out of five, Ty Burr from The Boston Globe said the film's strongest point is that it serves as "both allegory and example, a symbolic tale about the importance of nature's balance and a specific story about these specific lives", and called Hatide "a figure for the ages". Sense of injustice lingers after Seoul Halloween crush, Chess gets a risqu makeover. [39] As of July 2021, Honeyland has grossed $815,082 in the US and Canada, and $499,955 in other territories, making a worldwide gross of $1,315,037. But there was big pressure from the public in Macedonia" for her to go to the Oscars. During postproduction, the two became locked in a dispute about a communal well in Bekirlija. Ms. Muratova, pouring some honey for her guests at her home in Bekirlija. And by all accounts, she is quite happy, according to filmmakers Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov. Most of the houses were still in ruins, slowly sliding into the undergrowth. This gave us the power of the visual story that we made. Honeyland began as a government-funded environmental short exploring conservation, biodiversity . Soon after, her mother dies. Nature filmmaking that focuses only on the environment can feel a little dry, while so-called human-interest storytelling can be cloying; Honeyland succeeds by combining the two. "She is sharp, very intelligent and speaks four languages from different language groups -- Turkish, Macedonian, Albanian and Vlach (Aromanian)," Georgiev said. I think of an early shot of Hatidze sitting next to her mother in their dark, one-room home: she's gently lit, in her golden shirt . But under pressure to produce more from a local merchant, he breaks Hatidze's golden rule of leaving half for the bees, with disastrous consequences for everyone. Dan on January 31, 2020 at 11:01 am . Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. Will They Ever Leave? In Honeyland, one of 15 feature documentaries still in contention for the Academy Awards, the indelible main character is Hatidze Muratova, a woman from a remote section of North Macedonia. Terms of Service apply. he, out of greed, breaks Honeyland's basic rule (take half of the honey, but leave half to the bees); she, the last female beehunter in Europe, is left to save the bees and restore natural . The film depicts how Ms. Muratova and Hussein Sam, a seminomadic farmer tried to coexist in one of the poorest pockets of North Macedonia. [22] Another theme covered in the movie is the motherdaughter relationship between Hatide and her bedridden mother, which cinematographer Ljuma and Kotevska described as resembling that between a queen bee and a worker bee. The Oscar race is in full swing, and all eyes are on the big contenders: "Joker"! France 24 - International breaking news, top stories and headlines. Honeyland introduces us to Hatidze Muratova, a woman in her 50s who harvests honey from her own beehives in the mountains of Macedonia. [59][60] In February 2020, the documentary won an award in the category of Best International Success at the 23rd Golden Ladybug of Popularity Awards in North Macedonia. We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget. Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. The stylists shared her pictures, saying she is now ready to . ", "Honeyland review quietly heartbreaking meditation on rural life", "A Rare Nature Documentary That Tells a Deeply Human Story", "2019 Critics Poll: The Best Films and Performances According to Over 300 Critics From Around the World", "Best of 2019: Film Critic Top Ten Lists", " " " ", " " ": " , ", "Interview: Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov on Making the Most Out of an Environmentally Sticky Situation in "Honeyland", "The documentary 'Honeyland' captures a story of resilience", "Here Are the Winners of the 2019 Sundance Awards", " , - 2020", "How 'Honeyland' Became an Oscar Game Changer", "Making Oscar history, 'Honeyland' shatters borders", "Post 'Honeyland,' More Countries Are Submitting Documentary Oscar Contenders", "Oscar nominations 2020: 'Joker' leads with 11; Greta Gerwig snubbed for best director; complete list of nominees", "2019 EDA Award Winners Alliance of Women Film Journalists", "The 2019 Boston Society Of Film Critics (BSFC) Winners", "Chicago Film Critics Give Best Picture To 'Parasite' And Best Director To Bong Joon Ho", "American Factory and Apollo 11 Top 2020 Cinema Eye Honors", "The 2019 Dallas Fort-Worth Film Critics Association (DFWFCA) Winners", "DGA Announces Nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2019", "HONEYLAND won Best International Film Award at the 21st edition of DOCAVIV The Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival", "2019 European Film Awards: Nominees and Favorites", "The Lighthouse, Uncut Gems Lead 2020 Indie Spirit Nominations", "New York Film Critics Circle Names 'The Irishman' Best Film; Safdie Brothers, Lupita Nyong'o, Antonio Banderas Among Winners", "The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) Announces 2019 Award Winners", "PGA Awards Documentary Nominations: 'Apollo 11', 'American Factory', 'The Cave', 'Honeyland', Others Make The Cut", "International Press Academy (IPA) Satellite Awards: 'Ford v Ferrari' races to the top with 5 wins", "The 2019 Seattle Film Critics Society (SFCS) Nominations", "The 2019 St. Louis Film Critics Association (StLFCA) Nominations", "2019 Suundance Film Festival Awards Announced", "Parasite Finds a Host in D.C. Film Critics Awards 2019", "Honeyland: Why you need to see this beautifully crafted and compelling human drama", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Honeyland&oldid=1125146488, Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Documentary, Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography, Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, Atanas Georgiev & Tamara Kotevska & Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska & Ljubomir Stefanov & Atanas Georgiev, World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Impact for Change, World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography, This page was last edited on 2 December 2022, at 12:21. Mr. Sam wanted its water for his cows, while Ms. Muratova said it was only for human use. 2023 Copyright France 24 - All rights reserved. [22] David Fear writing for Rolling Stone viewed it as a documentary that portrays "rural regionalism and lost art forms", also saying the directors ensured viewers are immersed in Hatide's way of living during the first half of the movie so they realize what is being lost during the latter half. The story revolves around Hatidze, the last wild beekeeper, and her life philosophy on the exploitation of the natural resources. But the similarities between people and bees do not stop there. If Id had a son like you, she later tells one of the neighbor boys, things would be different.. But Kotevska says that there was never any need for negotiation; from the first time she encountered the filmmakers, Hatidze wanted to get her story out to the world. Hatidze deals out the honey in 'Honeyland' Honeyland is a deceptively sweet title for a documentary about a lonely life spent in a harsh, barren landscape. The film chronicles the tensions betweenHatidze Muratova, a local beekeeper, and a farmer in the remote hamlet of Bekirlija. We really enjoyed making this comparison during the shooting.". [47] Ed Potton of The Times, who gave the film four stars out of five, said "[a]lthough it starts as a meditation on the hardship and rhythms of rural life, [the film] becomes something more intimate". The home she lives in was purchased for her by the documentary filmmakers after they won their first award at the Sarajevo film festival. [31] Rating it with three stars out of four, Michael O'Sullivan from The Washington Post said despite the worthwhile patience it requires from viewers, the film "sneaks up on you in a quiet yet powerful way". As the nomadic family decides to move to another village, Hatide remains alone in Bekirlija. [19] Due to the remoteness of Bekirlija, the production team stayed there for three-to-four consecutive days before going to nearby towns for supplies and to recharge their filming equipment. [29], According to Stefanov, the directors' main focuses in Honeyland were climate change, biodiversity loss exemplified by the decline of the bee population,[30] and the use of natural resources. 2019 . We see her climb to a beehive that is hidden behind a large rock. The images in Honeyland are stunning.The film opens with images of a wide mountainous landscape, through which a tiny figure navigates. "The Sam family that comes later are the other group of bees who are attacking the previous group of bees, which is Hatidze and her family. Several environmental topics are explored, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and exploitation of natural resources. BEKIRLIJA, North Macedonia When the producer and two directors of Honeyland returned to the setting of their documentary in North Macedonia for the first time since it earned two Oscar nominations in February, something fundamental had changed. Given her exceptionally poor living conditions in the nearly deserted hamlet of Bekirlija, Hatidze would often say that her main wish, out of her newfound fame, is to move to a better house in the near-by village of Dorfulija which offers far better living standards. Will They Ever Leave? Hatidze says her bees are uniquely resilient and can survive very high and very low temperature, unlike many other species. However, Hussein, the father of the family, wants to harvest honey on a larger scale and for more profit. Hatidze approaches a beehive on a cliff But her quiet existence is fundamentally changed when the nomadic Sam family, consisting of parents with seven unruly children, a noisy vehicle and a large. It's a poem including history"[19] and listed the film as best pick for 2019. But the documentary doesnt teach us much about cultivating honey. She lives with her mother and is her care-taker, although . When Hatidze went for a dress fitting for the Oscars in the North Macedonian capital Skopje, it took "20 minutes for her to walk 200 metres because so many people wanted to have a selfie with. Hatidze especially feels the consequences. Critic A.O. Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! She has been making a living by farming honey and selling it in the closest city for her whole life, following one simple, but crucial rule - take half the honey and leave the other half to the bees. Shes the only one remaining in this village to take care of her mother, because in the old tribe that she belongs to its a tradition that the last female takes care over the parents and doesnt have a family of her own, Kotevska. When an unruly family moves in next door, what at first seems like a balm for her solitude becomes a source of tension as they, too, want to practice beekeeping, while disregarding her advice. Watch out at the Oscars on Sunday for Hatidze Muratova. She lives in the ruins of a farming village several hours from the capital city of Skopje, a 50 . Campaigns to collect additional funds to support Hatidze are on-going. When an unruly family moves in next door, what at first seems like a balm for her solitude becomes a source of tension as they, too, want to practice beekeeping, while disregarding her advice. Atanas Georgiev, left, the producer of Honeyland, and Tamara Kotevska, center left, one of the two co-directors, with Hussein Sam, his wife, Ljutvie, and their children inDorfulija, North Macedonia. Mr. Georgiev and Ms. Muratova visiting her new house in Dorfulija, which is still under construction. Still, the transformation of Ms. Muratovas life is not necessarily something to mourn, Mr. Stefanov said. [23], Set in the context of global warming and the rise of contemporary environmental awareness, numerous critics emphasized the message of sustainability. You can see how unjust life was to her, because shes the greatest extrovert and artist youll ever meet, and yet shes trapped all her life in this abandoned area, and given the burden to take care of her mother, Kotevska said. All Rights Reserved. The most awarded film at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival . Hatidze Muratova in Honeyland (2019) People Hatidze Muratova. Honeyland follows the day-to-day life of Hatidze Muratova, one of the last "bee-hunters", as she cultivates honey from the mountains of Macedonia. Read about our approach to external linking. Directors Here, she lives alone with her mother, putting in all her time and energy to make sure they live happily and peacefully. Both the Sams and Hatidze's family are ethnic Turks and they speak in Turkish dialect throughout the film. Sucked into the dispute, the crew tried to stay neutral by providing legal assistance to both parties, and they mediated an agreement by which Ms. Muratova would withdraw her complaint in exchange for Mr. Sams promise to abide by a set of principles about his future behavior. After another year editing, their first feature film was born. When an unruly family moves in next door, what at first seems like a balm for her solitude becomes a source of tension as they, too, want to practice beekeeping, while disregarding her advice. And that change speaks to a wider ethical conundrum that Mr. Stefanov and his colleagues have grappled with since finishing filming one that has long troubled documentary filmmakers. She has been working with the bees all her life and everything she has learned, she learned from them.". IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Now this place and these people are different, said a wistful Ljubomir Stefanov, one of the films two co-directors, sitting in Ms. Muratovas garden. She was born, she says, in 1964; she has, apparently, spent her entire life in this craggy farm region of the. Honeyland has much to say about conserving nature, but its lessons are also about human life and relationships. When the Sam family arrives, she welcomes them with an open heart, and teaches them how to harvest the wild honey. One day, the Sam family, nomadic cattle farmers who speak the same archaic Turkish dialect as Haditze and her mother, install their caravan right next to the women's house. It was very surprising because we didnt change what we put on the line. [14], The documentary uses fly on the wall style;[22] it does not use any voice-overs and subjects filmed do not look directly at the camera, which gives it an "invisible" quality. Kotevska says that the directors do not want to portray the Sam family as symbols of destruction, but merely as "the mirror to all of us who make bad decisions", based on the need to survive and provide. Subscribe today and get a full year of Mother Jones for just $14.95. what happened to Hatidze might be easier to understand, because they . Honeyland chronicles a period of Hatidze's life when her ancient methods of beekeeping came up against, and conflicted with, those of a newcomer to her remote home region. Read about our approach to external linking. We were tasked to produce a short documentary about the area, built around an environmental topic. "They make you extremely creative, we thought of the solutions that turned out to be quite unique.". It really says something important about the world," he added. [46] Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Sheri Linden called it an "unforgettable vrit character study and an intimate look at an endangered tradition". 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